Vin Diesel Hints at Marvel Phase 3 Plans and “Merging of Brands”

It was announced over the summer that Vin Diesel will be voicing Groot in 'Guardians of the Galaxy,' but the actor has also been hinting at his involvement with a bigger Marvel project for Phase 3, which we won't see for a few more years. While it's all still very vague and hush-hush, the actor recently confirmed his further involvement with the studio, teasing the mysterious new project and hinting at a "merging of brands." All right, Vin, we're listening.

But Vin Diesel recently sat down with Maria Menounos (via Bleeding Cool) and divulged a few vague details, expanding on his previous announcement a few weeks ago that his involvement goes beyond simply voicing Groot in 'Guardians of the Galaxy.' Diesel previously stated that Marvel wanted him for another project -- a big one for Phase 3:

When I met with Marvel it wasn’t for anything immediate, it was to talk about a film that would be introduced in the Phase 3 part of Marvel, not for a few years. You wouldn’t be able to see it for a few years. In my mind, Marvel were doing it right, they were enrolling me at the ground level which is the best way to enroll me."

I get the call, I go down to Marvel. A great meeting. It was even talking about something so big I can’t even talk about because it’s like the merging of brands in a way, which I won’t get into. That was something way, way, way, way, way down the road.

Obviously he can't say much about it, but we're intrigued by his further confirmation that yes, he is indeed involved with Marvel in something bigger. Diesel goes on to explain how hard it was to keep secrets before and after Comic-Con, knowing he'd be involved in this big, secretive 2016 Phase 3 project. He also discusses how Marvel tried to work with him to keep him in-house for both the Phase 3 project and something more immediate:

The next Monday, Marvel talks to me and says “We’re going to send something over in two weeks. We want to focus on the 2016 but we also want to, if possible, answer this growing request for something now.” I don’t have six months to play a character in the immediate future, it’s all booked… there was no way I was going to be able to deliver… after Comic-Con, we were at a stalemate…

It's an interesting interview, and can seem a bit confusing given how little Diesel is able to say at this time. We're definitely curious who he might be playing in Phase 3, and what sort of "merging of brands" he's referring to.